华盛顿——周三，前国务卿希拉里·克林顿公开支持明尼苏达州民主党副州长佩吉·弗拉纳根竞选参议员。这是她在2026年首次为国会选举候选人背书，同时借此机会抨击了总统唐纳德·特朗普。
WASHINGTON — Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday endorsed Minnesota Democratic Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan for Senate, making her first congressional endorsement in 2026 and taking a swing at President Donald Trump in the process.
“唐纳德·特朗普使得普通家庭更难负担得起儿童托儿服务、食品以及孩子的医疗费用。他的关税政策与对伊朗发动的战争推高了物价；他的预算案更是剥夺了孩子们的医疗与食品援助，只为让亿万富翁们获得更多减税优惠，”克林顿在一份声明中说道。该声明最初由《赫芬顿邮报》获得。
“Donald Trump has made it harder for families to afford childcare, groceries, and health care for their kids. His tariffs and war in Iran are driving up prices, and his budget ripped health care and food assistance away from children so billionaires could get another tax cut,” Clinton said in a statement, first obtained by HuffPost.
“佩吉·弗拉纳根毕生都在为儿童与家庭奔走，从参与儿童保护基金会的工作到担任副州长，她始终切实为这些群体谋福祉，”克林顿补充道，“我确信她在参议院也会继续成为他们的坚强后盾，因此我很自豪能支持她。” 克林顿曾是纽约州联邦参议员，也是2016年与特朗普对决的民主党总统候选人。她的职业生涯始于在儿童保护基金会担任倡导者。弗拉纳根同样也是该基金会的成员，她曾担任该基金会在明尼苏达州分会的执行主任。
“Peggy Flanagan has spent her career fighting for children and families, from the Children’s Defense Fund to the Lieutenant Governor’s office, and she’s delivered for them,” she said. “I know she’ll be that same champion in the Senate, and I’m proud to endorse her.”Clinton, a former U.S. senator from New York and the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee against Trump, began her career as an advocate at the Children’s Defense Fund. Flanagan, too, is a CDF alum, as the former executive director of the organization’s Minnesota chapter.
“早在成为第一夫人、参议员或国务卿之前，希拉里·克林顿就为儿童保护基金会四处奔走，呼吁让这个国家的每一个孩子都能获得公平的发展机会。正是这样的理念塑造了我，”弗拉纳根在声明中说道，“克林顿国务卿数十年来始终为普通家庭奋斗，能得到她的支持，我深感荣幸，也更有信心将这份事业带到美国参议院。”
“Long before she was First Lady, Senator, or Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton was knocking on doors for the Children’s Defense Fund, making the case that every child in this country deserves a fair shot. That same work shaped me,” Flanagan said in a statement. “Secretary Clinton has spent five decades fighting for those families, and I’m honored to have her support as we take that fight to the United States Senate.”
目前，这位明尼苏达州民主党人在民调中仅以微弱优势领先于共和党候选人米歇尔·塔福亚。后者曾是《周一晚间橄榄球》节目的场边记者，后来转型为保守派媒体人士。弗拉纳根则受益于明尼苏达州一贯倾向民主党的政治氛围：2024年总统选举中，该州选民以超过4个百分点的优势支持民主党候选人卡玛拉·哈里斯；过去20年来，该州也从未选出过共和党籍的联邦参议员。
The Minnesota Democrat has been narrowly leading in the polls against Republican Michele Tafoya, a former sideline reporter for “Monday Night Football” who became a conservative media personality. Flanagan benefits from her state being pretty reliably blue. Voters here went for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris by more than 4 percentage points over Trump in 2024, and they haven’t elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate in 20 years.
与全国范围内的民主党人一样，她也受益于总统支持率跌至历史最低点这一有利形势。选民们纷纷表示对经济状况、特朗普政府与伊朗的持续冲突以及美国政府的腐败现象深感不满。
Like Democrats nationally, she also benefits from the president’s approval rating being at an all-time low, with voters saying they are deeply unhappy with the economy, with Trump’s ongoing war with Iran and with corruption in the U.S. government.
身为进步派人士的弗拉纳根如今获得了希拉里·克林顿以及她在2016年总统初选时的竞争对手——佛蒙特州独立参议员伯尼·桑德斯的支持。
Flanagan, a progressive, now boasts the endorsement of both Clinton and her 2016 presidential primary rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
无党派机构“库克政治报告”长期跟踪并评估众议院及参议院各选区的政治倾向。该机构判定这一席位“极有可能由民主党人赢得”，并指出实际选情并不像民调显示的那样势均力敌。报告指出，弗拉纳根在经历与安吉·克雷格议员的激烈初选后，在大选阶段的资金投入起步较晚；而当地选民则深受今年早些时候特朗普政府实施的严苛移民执法政策影响——那次执法行动导致两名美国公民丧生，给当地民众留下了深刻创伤。
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report, which closely tracks and rates the political leanings of House and Senate races, rates this seat “likely Democrat” and suggests this race isn’t as close as it might look in polling. It notes Flanagan got a late start to spending in the general election after an ugly Democratic primary against Rep. Angie Craig and that voters here have been uniquely shaped by the hell they endured earlier this year amid the Trump administration’s brutal immigration enforcement tactics that left two Americans dead.
在8月份发布的选情分析中，“库克政治报告”写道：“考虑到当前经济状况以及联邦移民执法局在该州实施的突击搜查行动，对于试图在卡玛拉·哈里斯曾获胜的州取得突破的候选人而言，当前的政治环境可谓极为不利。”
“Given the economy and the state’s ICE raids, this is a difficult climate to try to make a major play in a state Kamala Harris won,” reads Cook’s August analysis of this race.